SPECIAL ABILITIES

Breath of Unlife (Su)

Once every 1d4 rounds, the demonic knight can exhale a blast of negative energy in a 10-foot cone. Creatures in the area must succeed on a DC 20 Reflex save or take 2d4 points of Strength damage. A creature reduced to Strength 0 by a demonic knight dies. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Create Spawn (Su)

Any humanoid slain by a demonic knight’s breath of unlife becomes a shadow demon in 2d4 rounds. Spawn are under the command of the demonic knight that created them and remain enslaved until its death. They do not possess any of the abilities they had in life.

ECOLOGY

The demonic knight—known by some as a death knight—is rumored to be the creation of the great demon prince Orcus, the Prince of the Undead. Some sages doubt the validity of such a claim, since the demonic knights are not undead. Though no link has been proven, however, it is known that three of the most powerful demonic knights (Baruliis, Caines, and Arrunes) make their home on the same plane of the Abyss as the Prince of the Undead within the shadows of his great citadel. The true origins of the demonic knight lay hidden deep in the stinking pits of the Abyss, and those brave few who have dared search for these secrets have never returned. The demonic knights serve their master (whoever it may be) with unswerving loyalty. They never question their orders and never question their superior. They are often sent to the Material Plane to recruit new bodies for their master’s next plot or deception, or to punish those that have offended their lord. On some occasions, they are simply sent to another plane to corrupt and slay those that are just and good (to the delight of their master).

A demonic knight appears as a 6-foot tall humanoid dressed in black iron half-plate armor. Its head is completely hidden beneath a helmet that it never removes. A black iron longsword is slung at its hip. Some demonic knights don capes and other decorations as a badge of station. It is unknown exactly how many demonic knights exist, but they are believed to number no more than nine.

A demonic knight attacks using its longsword (or fists, if unarmed). Against powerful opponents, it attempts to use its breath of unlife to weaken its foes before slaying them. If melee goes against the demonic knight, it summons demons to aid it or cover its escape.